Get Creative To Find Music Production Jobs

So you’ve got that degree in Music Production – but after months of scouring the want ads, you’re beginning to wonder if you shouldn’t have backed it up with a minor in Education. Don’t despair yet – you’re a creative person or you wouldn’t have chosen this business to begin with. The secret to finding and getting music production jobs is to use some of that creativity in your job search.

There are three things to keep in mind when doing a creative job search for music production jobs:

1. As many as 90% of the jobs in any media occupation never get advertised through regular channels. The music production companies get enough over the transom resumes that they can pick and choose without advertising.

2. In many music production jobs, networking will be a key part of your job description. If you can’t network to get a job, you’ll have a hard time convincing a hiring manager that you can do the job.

3. Sometimes the best way to get your foot in the door is to intern for a music production company. According to a recent survey conducted by CareerExposure, 94% of employers have offered a full time job to interns when their internship was finished.

Keeping those three things in mind, you can put together a creative music productions job search that will land you the position that you want using the following blueprint.

1. Do your homework. You should know the music production jobs that you’re going after inside out. Read up on the web, visit the library and bookstores and find out all that you can.

2. Start applying your networking skills. Make a list of people you know who may be able to help you. Don’t forget to include people like your ex-teachers, business acquaintances and people you know through other people. Did you do sound levels for a band? Have you interned for a publisher? Have you got a chance to attend a media symposium? Those are all important contacts for you when you’re trying to network your way into music production jobs.

Boldness is an important skill to cultivate here. Ask for letters of introduction, or for permission to use someone’s name when you contact another. It’s amazing how quickly you’ll get results with a simple statement like, “Hi, Mr. Producer, my name is Interested Party. My professor, Ms. In-The-Know suggested that I call you when I told her that I’m interested in an internship with your company. Do you have a few moments to talk with me about that now, or is there a better time to call you?”

3. All right, you’re not quite that bold? There are several different methods of approach you can use to contact people who hold the keys to music production jobs.

- Mail is the most traditional method. Once you’ve researched enough to know what companies you want to work for, and who makes hiring decisions there, you can mail a resume along with an excellent cover letter. Chances are though, that you’ll have to follow up on your initial mail. Remember point #1 above – music production companies get loads of over the transom resumes.

- Email is a second option, and is a reasonable way to follow up as well. If you’ve sent your resume by mail, wait a few days and then follow up with an email to the hiring manager stating that you’re following up on your mailed resume and are very interested in discussing possible career options within his or her company. If you haven’t, send a cover letter and resume via email, and follow up in a few days with a second email.

- Telephone calls may be scary, but they are one of the quickest ways to get through to the person you want to speak with. Keep in mind that your phone call is an interruption to the hiring manager’s day – be pleasant, be brief and be direct.

The secret to finding and getting music production jobs is being bold enough to get yourself out there and sell your skills and abilities. With only 10% of the available jobs ever being offered openly in the classifieds, it’s the only way that you’ll ever know what music production jobs are available.

The Revolution Of High Tech Recording Industry

Today, music is one of the biggest entertainment industries in the world. This market is hotter for many reasons. First of all, customers’ demands and tastes are higher and more diversified than ever. Second, the number of people and companies working in this field are increasing at such a dizzy speed that it creates a very large pool of tough competition, and of course, to survive, they have to be unique and distinguished.

We can list out herewith some relevant industry jobs such as Recording, Radio, Television and other Media, Working live shows and tours, Music Retailing and Instrument Repairing, Education and Instruction and many more. Among them, the recording industry is one that has been applying high-end technologies for many years.

The recording industry commenced at the start of the 20th century, when publishers of sheet music dominated the music business. With a quick development pace, recording industry gradually dominated and controlled the music industry. This is the kind of mass-production copies’ business that can fix the price in the market.

To be the priority in the effervescent market of recording, what can they do? – Reducing the price? – Noisy brand-name advertising? – Or investing in technological upgrading of products and services? Of course, though technologies change very fast every day, people still make the choice of high-tech applications as the best way to affirm their positions in the music market.

Regarding recording industry, we consider that this is not only a technical but also a creative career. High-end technology is useful for both sides of this job. Recording engineer definitely must be technically skilled with the equipment. They must manipulate skillfully with all the buttons or knobs to get the correct sound that the artist or the producer want to have. A good microphone is necessary in the first step to begin with the recording process. And then, with the instruments, they find out the expected sounds – not music. The recording engineer, finally, will make the adjustments to enhance the music, morph, add effects… Some years ago, in order to do these steps, they had to resort to many equipment. In this case, the results obtained take a lot of the engineers’ time and labor. However, today, thanks to the development of high-end technologies, recording engineer can apply modern equipment to make their work easier and more professional. One simple example, with a PC and some installed music morpher, music editor softwares, they can mix and edit music like a skilled recording engineer.

In the other side of this job, creativity is also very important. Music industry is a very specific one that requires creativity. The recording engineer must have the feeling, the sense of music that can create different and unique sounds that express music in the best way. With the same song recorded by two engineers, we have two ways to express the music which depend on the creativity of the recording workers. The recording engineer can apply some intelligent softwares specialized to perform a good job. Sometimes, just by adding a wave sound, increasing the frequency or reducing the noise of the music, we have colored up the recordings.

More and more recording engineers believe in the important role of high-end technologies for their career. They are willing to spend money on equipment, modern music editor or music morpher softwares to support their work. Some people pay up to thousands of dollars for their recording studios, but some know how to save money. They find out the efficient softwares that can work properly as a mixer, an editor with very competitive price from $30 to $100. They know how to update their “companion” by frequently downloading the latest effects or supporting programs. By this way, high-tech supports for both professional recording studios and some home recording studios.

“A war is happening, not the Iraq war, but the high-tech war”. However, we will not perish in this war if we know how to use and control technologies for our purposes. Holding in hand the weapons of music softwares, we will be the unique winner, the best one in the running of entertainment industry, especially recording industry.

Make Your Own Beats, Instrumentals, Tracks, and Demo CDs Part 2

There are many, many ways to make money with your own music. The first thing you need to do, though, is break it down into pieces, or components we will call them.  

There are 4 key components to any track, or song. You have soundsets, which are nothing more than beats, sounds, scratches, etc. You have loopsets, which are your soundsets when put together in a loop. You have instrumentals, which are completed tracks with no voice or lyrics. Finally, you have completed tracks, which are basically just instrumentals that include lyrics.

When you look at music from this angle, broken down into components, you will start to see many ways to make money with your own. Like I mentioned at the beginning of this report, people are not only paying for completed tracks, they are also paying for the components individually. If you can create you own, good components, people will buy them.

Again, search the Internet for these components. Doing so will not only show you how much you can sell your components for, but also where you can sell them. As long as people are listening to music, there will always be a demand for it, and I can't see people stopping anytime soon.

If you are interested in learning how to make money with your own beats in more detail, I recommend you check out Bob Bakers website (see "about the author" at the bottom of this article). Bob Baker is a writer, indie musician and former music magazine editor who is dedicated to showing musicians of all kinds how to get exposure, connect with fans, sell more CDs and increase their incomes through their artistic passions. He is also the author of the Guerilla Music Marketing Handbook, as seen in the major motion picture The School of Rock ... and in VIBE, Music Connection, Electronic Musician and American Songwriter magazines. This is the guy you should listen to. Here are some of the things you will find at his website...

- 197 Promotion Tips, Tricks, and Resources for Independent Musicians.

- 101 places to submit press releases, get reviewed, uncover PR connections and promote your music on the Internet. Supplies the exact website and email addresses for submitting your music news.

- The 29 most important elements in creating sizzling music publicity materials. Make sure your media kit gets noticed by editors, writers, booking agents, program directors, and other industry people.

- 50 ways to promote and sell your music on the Internet.

- And more, including his coveted Guerilla Music Marketing Handbook.

I hope this report has proved useful to you and I wish you all the best as you learn how to make your own beats, tracks, and even complete demo cd's.